It's great to take a break!

Saving money is so much fun! Getting things my family needs and uses for free (or practically free) is a blast!  It can be overwhelming ... so I encourage ... taking a break every few months ... It is ok to miss a deal ... it will come around again ... I promise ... and after a break ... like a vacation ... you feel refreshed and ready!

My kiddos were off school for 2 weeks ... it is tough to shop with them so I usually go when they are in school ... When they are home ... I would rather be doing with them ... The coupons & deals will still be there ... With these Holiday mayhem ... there aren't alot of deals anyway ... so the timing couldn't be better.  I Sid make it out once or twice ... but primarily enjoyed family time.

Welcome to 2012!  Did you know that the #1 resolution is TO SAVE MONEY!  I can show you how ... contact me and learn how to be a host for a FREE Couponing 101 Class ... Get some friends and family together ... and as a host ... receive a gift!

Happy New Year!

Tracey

CVS & WALGREENS 11-24-11 Black Friday-ish

My first Black Friday (Turkey Thursday) shopping at Walgreen & CVS.  Both stores always have great deals and often FREE items ... but they had CRAZY deals to join in the crazy shopping frenzy! The best part was that both stores ran deals for 3 days ... Thanxgiving thru Saturday.  If you can master the technique of using Register Rewards at Walgreens & Extra Bucks at CVS ... you can wind up paying minimum out of pocket.  The key is multiple transactions & rolling over EBs & RRs from one transaction to the next!

My Black Friday shopping buddy, Gigi, was up for the challenge and we started off at pharmacies Thanxgiving Day!

I am not sure how many items total ... but it is safe to say ... lots!

Total Retail $339.39 ... Saved $270.22 ... Paid $69.26 ... Received RR & EB for $58.70 ... Total spent $10.48 ... a 96.91% Savings.

My items ... Retail $197.84 ... Saved $163.61 ... Paid $34.25 ... Received $31.79 in EBs & RRs ... Total spent $2.45 which is a savings of 96.91%

FREE is Fun!!!

:-)
Tracey

CVS 11-20-11

22 Items ... Retail $168.23 ... Saved $147.28 ... Paid $20.95 ... 87.54% Savings ... Received $14.79 in EB & Gift Card Balance ... 96.33% Saved.

Good thing we found bathroom tissue on sale ... we were down to only 100 rolls ... LOL!

RALPHS 11-4-11

19 Items ... Retail $82.10 ... Saved $48.96 ... Paid $33.14 ... 59.63% Savings

CVS 11-4-11

Practically free! I love CVS ... I can't believe I used to pay full price for sooo many things ... No more:-)

14 Items ... Retail $49.76 ... Saved $39.60 ... Paid $10.16 ... 79.58% Savings ... Also received $21 in EB ... Actual savings is $60.60 or 121.78%

RALPH'S 10-28-11

30 Items ... Retail $110.31 ... Saved $85.56 ... Paid $24.75 ... $17.16 in savings didn't show up somehow ... I jotted down my total before they scanned my card and coupons ... ??? ... weird ... 77.56% saved!

CVS 10-26-11

Getting ready for those cold evenings ... gotta love hot soup on a chilly night!

16 Items ... Retail $51.70 ... Saved $47.73 ... Paid $3.97 ... 92.37% Savings ... Received $5 in EB for next time!  Including EB ... Savings is 102%

TIP:
Roll over your Extra Bucks ... makes your Out Of Pocket less!

My pr-schooler insisted on being in the photo:-)

RALPHS 10-23-11

Kind of a slow week ... but still some good buys:-)

29 Items including milk, produce, meat and detergent ... Retail $ 110.76 ... My Ralph's card brought it to $57.29 ... Minus Coupons ... Final OOP  $34.50 ... A savings of $74.76 ... 67.49% Saved

WALGREENS 10-22-11

19 Items ... Retail $62.30 ... Saved $58.90 ... OOP $3.40 ... 94.54% saved ... Received $4 in RR for next next time landing actual saving over 100% ... Yeah!!!

CVS 10-21-11

10 items ... Retail $61.24 ... Saved $58.66 ... OOP $2.58 ... 95.78% Received $10 AMEX Gift Card as part of promo w/ Wisk purchase.  Makes everything FREE plus I still have $7.42 ... 100%+ saved!